1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems selection of television and/or radio programming.
2. Description of the Related Art
Multimedia devices such as VCRs, DVD players, MP3 players, cassette players, CD players, SetTop Boxes (STBs) for cable and satellite television, and the new class of Personal Video Recorders (PVRs) such as TIVO, are extremely popular with consumers. Almost every household in the United States has at least one of these devices.
The most common user complaint is that these devices are difficult to use and understand. Menus used to guide users through options delivered by the multimedia devices are also confusing and cryptic. The menus are simplistic and text based. Cursor appearance and movement are rudimentary and the user is easily confused by the non-intuitive uses of menu choices.
Multimedia program schedule information provided by cable and satellite providers has been physically tied to an archaic display method. Service providers are under the false belief that viewers are conditioned to interpret and understand the television schedule presentation methods that originated from print media such as newspapers.
Television program schedule information has traditionally been displayed either in a columnar or tabular form. The tabular method displays program schedule information as a two dimensional table. The vertical axis displays the television channel numbers and the horizontal axis displays the time periods. The names of the television programs for each channel are listed horizontally across the table. Each show is listed under the time period during which it is shown.
The columnar method displays the channels and program names under a time heading. TV Guide is an example of the columnar method. This works well for printed matter because the reader looks through the columns for the desired time period and finds all of the channels and program names starting at that time.
A dominant television schedule format is the grid format. This format is popular for displaying television schedule information on the TV screen. The television schedule information is displayed in much the same form as the tabular approach. A two-dimensional table format is laid out. The vertical axis displays the channel numbers or IDs with the horizontal axis displaying half hour time increments. Programs are blocked out within the table. A show is represented by a rectangular colored block. This block extends horizontally from the program start time to the program end time.
The viewer either scrolls through the channel list or it is rotated automatically. Information beyond the time period is not displayed and only shifts to the right as time advances.
The problem with the grid format is that it is limited by the television resolution, screen size, and viewing distance. This limits the information displayed an hour or two, and the channel list to around seven channels. Additionally, some applications attempt to place advertising information within the grid format. This leads to a visual overload of information to the viewer and a cluttered appearance.
STBs and PVRs use the television screen to display programming information. The user is forced to use a remote control or other device to manipulate a cursor on the screen to select programming. This is a cumbersome and frustrating process and the user cannot watch a program or movie while scrolling through the programming list